


The One You Love

by CameoAmalthea



Category: FFVII
Genre: F/M, Female Gaze, M/M, Marriage, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-01
Updated: 2013-12-01
Packaged: 2018-01-03 02:35:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1064721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CameoAmalthea/pseuds/CameoAmalthea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one you love, the one you're with, the one you want, but maybe love doesn't mean wanting just one person or one thing. Yuffie knows she wants Rufus, he's everything she should want and he's hers, but her minds still dreams of more</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One You Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [la-zphilosopher](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=la-zphilosopher), [Licoriceallsorts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Licoriceallsorts/gifts).



The afternoon’s light cast a golden glow on the pagoda’s balcony. Below her teamed a sea of reporters. Enormous television cameras focused on her and the man who stood beside her. She looked down at her feet, shifted her weight and watched the wood shift slightly. A prep team had dumped pounds of make up on her to make her ready for the cameras. Her short hair was blown back and pinned to create the illusion of elegance.

She lifted her head up and held herself tall and proud. She was elegant, she was freaking regal. She was Lady Kisaragi of Wutai, the White Rose, Princess and heir to the throne of Leviathan, and Rufus Shinra had practically begged for her hand in marriage. Which made her smirk, just a bit.

After the announcement the whole world would know their plans. She felt a bit guilty for not telling her friends sooner, but she knew how that would go. They’d freak, they’d try to talk her out of it or go off half cocked thinking she needed to be rescued.

It wasn’t like that though, she wasn’t being forced into this. She wanted this, even when Godo was being stubborn as old yellow chocobo, she’d held her ground.

The truth was, Rufus Shinra was everything she could ever want _._

 _Weird right_?

X

The “courtship” began a little over a year ago when Rufus Shinra, ostensibly in Wutai on unrelated business, invited her to tea. Considering what ShinRa had done to Wutai, most people wouldn’t think she’d give Rufus the time of day much less a date and then a second. Curiosity had led her to accept that first invitation, and getting to know him made it all too easy to want to ‘do this again sometime’ or maybe do something else a bit more exciting.

They sat out in garden of the tea house and spent the afternoon talking, mostly about Rufus himself. Somehow he managed to talk about himself with out seeming boring or egotistical, the conversation just led to him.

“Any particular reason you asked me here?” she asked, crossing her arms, even if it wasn’t lady like.

“The pleasure of your company,” said Rufus, “of course, given our similar positions, I thought it would be nice to have someone to relate to? Any particular reason you agreed to come?”

“The cakes here are nice,” she said, she wouldn’t admit to being curious or admit he had anything she wanted. “You really think we have that much in common?”

“I hoped we might,” said Rufus.

The more he spoke, the more charming he became. The more obvious it was that they really were two of a kind despite being seemingly natural born enemies. It wasn’t that Yuffie didn’t hate ShinRa, so much as Rufus wasn’t Shinra Company. All the things ShinRa did that made it loathsome happened before Rufus was in charge. Rufus wasn’t his father anymore than she was Godo. It didn’t seem fair to blame him for everything. They were both kids when the war started, after all.

Rufus had a knack for making himself seem sympathetic, even relatable. Of course Yuffie knew what it felt like being seen as ‘what’ you are instead of who you are. From the moment of her birth she was the girl who would be Empress, her individuality pushed aside as they shoved her into the mold of tradition and expectations.

Except that hadn’t worked out so well, because she was too awesome to be an ordinary princess. She wanted to be a warrior, a ninja! Besides, the traditional world she’d been born into ended before she could remember. She couldn’t recall a time before the war, just stories in history books. After the war, tradition became a show for tourists, but she made a vow to build a better world, a better Wutai. If only she know how, but she was sure it wasn’t by playing her role as princess. It was finding what role she could play, how to make the title fit her.

“I always wanted to fit my role,” said Rufus, “to be exactly the son my father wanted me to be. I admire your strength, it isn’t easy to strike out on your own. I never wanted to be anything like my father, but it took me the longest time to figure out what that meant.”

“As I recall,” said Yuffie, “you wanted to define yourself by ruling by fear, right? I admit, you’re not as bad as Shinra Sr. but that doesn’t make you a nice guy. You tried to kill my friends, remember?”

Rufus’s laugh was as lovely as everything else about him. “My dear girl, when did I ever claim to be nice?” he asked, “What needs to be done isn’t always the same as what’s nice, I think we can agree on that.”

Rufus Shinra never made excuses, though he was willing to explain the circumstances and his reasoning. The execution had in fact been Scarlet’s suggestion, apparently, but he’d been all for it. She should hate him for that, but when he explained his reasoning it just seemed so well…reasonable.

With meteor looming everyone was freaking out and that could have led to all out panic. She knew what that meant. In Wutai the damage done by was hadn’t all been from Shinra’s forces. There was the chaos after towns fell, looting and violence. People got vicious when there wasn’t anything to lose. She’d seen it again after Meteor Fall. That’s why getting the WRO up and running had been so important without a functioning government factions formed, whoever was strongest took charge and sometimes that meant the meanest.

Rufus wasn’t exactly mean… just well ruthless. Back then, before Meteor Fall,  he’d thought the best way to keep people from rioting was to make it clear Shinra would execute ‘those who threatened to peace’. Making examples of Tifa and Berret made sense, they were terrorists and they had killed people. Rufus had the casualty count from the reactors memorized, men, women, and children.

“But if ShinRa wasn’t stopped everyone would have died along with the planet,” Yuffie pointed out.

“I knew a man once who thought the best way to protect the planet and insure future life would be to eliminate all human life. He was insane, of course, but he had a point. Humans have a knack for destruction.” He’d brushed his hair back, away from his face. “I’m not suggesting that your friends weren’t justified. All sides in a war feel justified. I’m merely saying that at the time, I felt justified in killing them. I needed to send a message and what’s more my people needed to know Shin-ra was in control of the situation.”

“So you lied to them,” said Yuffie.

“If they’d known that we had no idea how to deal with the situation, just wild speculation and last ditch efforts, there would have been even more panic. Shin-ra was focusing all it’s resources on countering the threat of Meteor, WEAPON, and Sephiroth, we couldn’t have panic in the streets or a coup brought on by lack of confidence. Yes, I lied to them, I painted the picture they needed to see ‘Shin-ra has everything under control. We’ve all ready apprehended the culprits responsible. We will deal with this disaster.”

“That back fired pretty bad,” said Yuffie.

“Indeed,” said Rufus, “I’ll admit, most of our efforts failed, in part thanks to you and your friends. Tell, me what was so terrible about our plan to use the giant Materia against Meteor. Was AVALANCHE’s logic, Shin-ra’s doing it, we oppose it? I would have thought stopping Meteor would have been in everyone’s interest.”

Yuffie hadn’t been able to answer that.  Instead she’d regarded the cup of tea in front of her like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Then Rufus had reached out and placed a gentle hand under her chin to lift her face to look at him.

“In war no one is innocent,” said Rufus, “I’ve never denied the harm my company’s done nor shirked responsibility for cleaning up the mess my father made. For my own actions, I can only say that I did what I felt was necessary at the time, as I’m sure you and your friends did as well. Now that time has past, the war’s over. What’s important is rebuilding our world in peace and unity. Our union would make for a powerful symbol.”

Rufus wasn’t one to beat around the bush. His words were enough to make her forget not to breathe and swallow at the same time, leaving her choking on her tea. “Are you seriously,” she paused to cause and gasp, “proposing on the first date?”

Rufus offered her a napkin. “Careful,” said Rufus, “and please. I never even said this was a date. I was only making an observation. Although, it is an attractive offer to think about.”

 

X

 

Yuffie couldn’t deny he had a point.  In the weeks of their courtship she’d realized that attractive just about summed things up, including Rufus. Yes, she hated Shinra, but so has Rufus, it seemed. Whatsmore, when Rufus inherited the blame, but didn’t try to pass it off, instead he took responsibility for what his Dad did and tried to fix it. He was the only Shinra left and then meant it was his responsibility. He didn’t run away from it, unlike her.

She was nineteen now though, and it time she faced her responsibility. She was Yuffie Kisuragi, heir to a dynasty the stretched back hundreds of years. That dynasty nearly ended with her father, and if she weren’t careful, it would end with her. Wutai could become just a memory, a glorious country brought down by war and disaster.  Wutai’s future depended on her. If she married Rufus Shinra she would join Wutai to the East. He still had money and influence; he was working to rebuild his reputation.

The publication of a biography penned by a former notable Shin-ra detractor that followed Rufus from teenaged anti- Shinra activist later imprisoned for years for aiding AVALANCHE to a young President desperate to save their world and beyond, noting his research on geo-stigma and work with children, had definitely helped his reputation. The biography wasn’t all glowing, the writer asked whether Rufus had merely wanted power sooner, allying with AVALANCHE to the hopes of ousting his father or if his interest in a cure for the stigma was purely self motivated and his beneficence all an act, but she weighed the facts fairly, and once all was said and done it was easy for the readers to decide for themselves that Rufus Shinra was a misunderstood golden boy unfairly blamed for Shin-ra’s failings.

Yuffie picked up a copy of the book after her first meeting (could you call it a date?) with Rufus. She was left with a mixed impression, but she couldn’t deny he was driven and dangerously clever. Not to mention brave. While opinions on the recently published biography were mixed, Rufus’s leap off that half finished high-rise while battling Kadaj, an image that had gone viral thanks to video captured by an onlooker with a camera phone, had definitely helped endear him to the people. Even she had to admit that took balls. He’d never been short on guts. Daring, brilliant, and completely gorgeous.

She’d always had a thing for foreigners, especially blondes with blue eyes. Rufus’s eyes weren’t like Cloud’s Mako eyes. Cloud’s eyes were too blue to be real, beautiful of course and deep, but  Rufus’s eyes were lighter and somehow warmer. She liked Rufus’s laugh, and his dry since of humor that could at times verge on morbid. Rufus understood the frustration of being surrounded by people who just didn’t get it. Yuffie thought she got it, she was a smart girl, and maybe that’s what drew him too her more than just her position.

After all, it wasn’t like he needed to marry her to secure the alliance. He wanted a partner. Someone whose shuriken sharp wit would be a match for his own. Yuffie was sure he wanted her for her mind and personality, although she wasn’t sure what he saw in her physically. Although he complimented her when the met with a sort of trained politeness

 

 

X

Rufus Shinra was too perfectly charming. Every move a practiced choreographed step, pulling out chairs for her and opening doors. He was like the men in the Eastern paperback romance books she used to swipe from inn lobbies: (living alone in the forest got boring sometimes). He always said and did exactly the right thing. He knew how to charm, and Yuffie was sure there were plenty of women who would be putty in his hands.

Not her- but a lot of women. She liked the idea that she could take what other people wanted- that the world’s most eligible bachelor would be hers. And she had to admit, she liked Rufus too. The way his blonde fringe fell over his pale blue eyes. The way he smirked and chuckled to himself.

About a month after they’d started dating (although she wasn’t sure if she wanted to call it that), they’d gone to beach. That was the first time she saw him shirtless she’d flat out stared. 

He was as flawless as a model in a magazine. His skin smooth and muscles perfectly toned, and shouldn't be more banged up? 

“You look surprised,” he said. She was grateful he hadn’t teased her for looking at him like that or maybe he hadn’t guessed the real reason.

“Uh, yeah, surprised,” she said, “You know, I mean- didn’t a building fall on you? You look so-perfect.”

Rufus explained that the healing rains that had cured his geostigma had washed away all the scars, leaving his pale skin flawless. He wasn’t entirely happy to lose those scars.

“I suppose it’s poetic on the one hand,” said Rufus, “a blank slate. The past wiped clean. But I liked the marks, scars are earned, they remind us that we’ve lived and survived to learn from mistakes.”

Yuffie didn’t know what to say to that. She hadn’t been affected by the stigma and so the water hadn’t done a thing to her. She had scars, from falls as a child, missteps in training, and a short lifetime of battles. She wouldn’t have wanted her scars erased, but all the same, perfection suited Rufus.

In the sun of Costa Del Sol, she’d admired the smoothness of his skin and the contours of his muscles.

“Well, you look good,” she’d said, she turned and kicked at the sun so he couldn’t see her blush, “for someone who was dying, you know. Did the rain have magic buff-ness properties too?”

“No,” said Rufus. He explained that he’d tried to keep in shape despite his illness. Pushing himself as hard as he could, to Tseng’s frustration. Tseng, it seemed, was always worrying about Rufus.

X

Yuffie didn’t know what to make of Tseng. In the biography Tseng was described as Rufus’s oldest friend. Someone he’d known his whole life from the time he was child, a mentor, confident, and faithful servant. In disclosing previously classified information, the biography had gone into details about the Turk’s rebellion against Shin-ra and work to safeguard the people of the world. Tseng came across quite favorably, desperate to do the right thing in an impossible situation, to serve the greater good even as it became apparent that Shin-ra might not in fact be that ‘good.’

She wondered how Tseng had come to work for Shin-ra. What his feelings were for Wutai. How he felt about her and the Rufus’s proposal. After their courtship turned to negotiations, it was Tseng Rufus sent to work out the deal.Their marriage had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with business, and the details would be ironed out like a treaty. There'd be plenty of time for Rufus and Yuffie to spend together and act in love once things were finalized and the cameras were there to report every kiss. In the meantime, Tseng was there as Rufus's liason. 

While Rufus was the focus of their talks, Yuffie couldn't help but want to find out more about Tseng. She discovered he could barely speak passable Wutain, in contrast to Rufus who was fluent, and despite his looks came off as thoroughly foreign. The contrast was fascinating. He was an Eastern man with Wutain looks.

Good looks too. He looked young for age. He could probably pass for someone ten years younger. The way he moved was at once graceful and dangerous, almost like a cat. Although Yuffie had a thing for Eastern features, light hair, eyes, and skin; there were plenty of guys in her own country that caught her eye and Tseng had everything she liked in Wutain guys.

If it weren’t for the arrangement with Rufus, Yuffie might have wondered if Tseng were available. Except, he didn’t seem available. Elena was all over that. But the fact Tseng might like Elena back actually made Yuffie feel less weird for liking him.

After all, even if Tseng was probably in his thirties (almost twice her age) Elena was only a couple years older than her. So if Elena could like Tseng, then it wasn’t weird for her to like him.  True, he might be old enough to be her father, if he had kids in his teens and certainly older than most people would say was ‘appropriate’, but she liked older guys. For the longest time she’d had something of a crush on Vincent, after it was clear Cloud probably wasn’t going to happen, and it wasn’t because he looked so young but because he was so much older than her. That was actually another part of Rufus’s appeal as well: he was nine years her senior.

Yuffie liked men, not boys, and she felt at nineteen she was old enough to fancy anyone she wanted without it being ‘wrong’ because they were all adults and anyway she was just thinking about it. Just looking.

Although she knew the prospect of marriage meant she’d have to stop looking soon. Maybe nineteen was a little young to think about marriage. Even to a perfect match like Rufus Shinra.

X

As she stood on the pagoda before the world's press, she looked the picture of confidence, but inside her stomach was in knotts. Any doubts or second thoughts about the engagement would have to be forgetten. After the public announcement of their engagement it was a bit late to back out. It would be best for Wutai and it would be pretty good for her. Being single meant she could potentially have anyone, but being with Rufus meant she could definitely have him and she wanted that. The kiss he gave her on the balcony wasn't just pretending for the media, it felt real.

Then that night, she found herself sneaking silently to the guest room where her fiance was staying. They were engaged now, so that meant there was no reason not to be together. She knocked on his door and waited for him to answer. When he did, Rufus gave her a knowing smile and gestured for her to come inside. This was it, their first time together. He began by kissing her on the lips. His mouth warm against hers, eyes closed as their tongues met. Then he kissed her again, and moved to kiss her neck, fingers finding the buttons on her shirt.

They moved to the bed and she lay back as he lifted her hips to help him slide off her shorts, leaving her naked and exposed. He pulled off his own pants and began to touch himself to work his cock into arousal. She sat up and reached for it. It felt warm in her hands and she began to slowly pump it up and down. His voice hitched a moment and he sighed, eyes closed with pleasure. Yuffie liked the sounds he made.

Once he was hard, she asked, “You want to?”

He smiled at her and positioned himself over her. He reached for a condom and bottle of lube.  The latex stretched over his cock and he slicked it. The guys she’d been with before hadn’t bothered prepping so much, condom on and then it was quick, but he spread the lube over his hand was reached out to spread it over her. Her eyes widened at being touched there for the first time by her new lover and gasped as he slid a finger inside her.

She moved her own hand down to touch herself the way she liked it. It would be easier for him to get in if she was excited and she knew how to do that fast and she wanted him in now. When he stopped fingering her, she lifted her legs and spread them just above his hips. She looked up at him, his perfectly sculpted abs and pecks; the look of hunger in his eyes.

He slipped his hands under her ass and pulled her into position. Then she felt him inside her. It hurt, it had been awhile and the sudden fullness, stung. He stopped and looked at her. “Should I stop?” he asked.

“No,” she said, “it’s good, just need to get into it. Come on.” She rubbed her clit, focusing on that feeling, and closed her eyes. She thought about how much she wanted this. How hot he looked. Then he began to move and every thrust felt so good. 

 

X

Yuffie was satisfied. Rufus was everything she could ever want. And yet…that didn’t exactly stop her from noticing other boys or think about other things. 

Like how she couldn’t stop thinking about how handsome a certain young baker was when they went for a cake tasting. The baker was called Manni, and they met him on a trip to Icicle Inn to do a cake tasting. You know, the fun part of wedding of planning. 

The reason for the trip was because that particular bakery was owned by Rufus’s uncle, Mr. Palmer, who’d requested Rufus stop by the visit his new business. Rufus explained they weren’t actually related and hadn’t been close since Rufus was a child.

“Palmer’s an idiot,” said Rufus, “but if we decide to our cake from him it will help his business and I owe him that much after sabotaging the Space Program. It won’t cost us anything to give it a try.”

The cakes were actually delicious and lovely. Palmer introduced his son Manni as chief decorator. Yuffie’s jaw could have dropped just looking at him. Manni had thick dark hair, pale skin and hazel eyes. His jaw was strong, a perfect match for his tall frame and broad shoulders.

While Yuffie looked at Manni, Rufus flipped through a book of cake options, admiring the intricate icing work.  “Well, you’ve certainly found your talent,” said Rufus, “I never knew your were Palmer’s son.” He looked from Manni to Yuffie. “Manni and I attended school together as children.”

“Oh,” said Yuffie.

“Yup,” said Manni, “I didn’t know either, not until after Meteor Fall.  Rolland- I mean, Dad- showed up, proposed to mom and said he wanted to make up for lost time if I’d forgive him. I guess it explains how I got into those schools and where the extra money came from. You know, I still have our old yearbook. I’ll  grab it for you if you’d like to see what your fiancé looked like a kid.”

Yuffie laughed at the prospect . “Oh definitely,” she said.

Manni left to get the year book, and Palmer came to bring them tea and more cake samples.

“It seems you and Manni are getting along well,” said Rufus, “I imagine it’s been difficult, making up for lost time.”

“I’m just glad I have the time I do. Nearly dying then watching the world almost end makes you reevaluate your priorities,” said Mr. Palmer. He poured them each a cup of tea. “For years I thought I could never be with the woman I loved, too much of a scandal, I was an executive and she was a dancer. Our child was born in love, not marriage. I wanted Manni to have a normal childhood, free of that gossip. I gave him what I could, but missed so much. I’m just glad I’m still alive and we can get to know each other. He’s grown into such a fine young man.”

Fine was definitely a word for it. A flip through the year book revealed that Manny had definitely “won” at puberty, going from a pudgy round faced kid who looked like he’d had one to many puddings to the definition of stud. Rufus, in contrast, had apparently always been pretty going from an angelic looking eleven year old to a model gorgeous adult. The school photos weren’t nearly as embarrassing as she hoped.

Any baby pictures Rufus found of her would be much more embarrassing and unlike Manny she definitely hadn’t ‘won’ puberty. She was still flat chested, narrow hipped and boyish. Why couldn’t she have been more like Tifa?

Yuffie tried not to think about Tifa. She hadn’t told her about her plans before the engagement was announced and no doubt would get a ear full when they talked. Tifa liked to think she was everyone’s mom and the last thing Yuffie needed was to be lectured.

Except, she sort of wanted to talk to Tifa because she needed someone to talk to about the fact being with Rufus hadn’t stopped thoughts about other guys. She wanted to Rufus, but she kept having all these wrong thoughts. Some more wrong than others.

 

X

Acknowledging that Manni was hot wasn’t wrong so much as obvious, right. It was just, lately, she’d begun to think about hot Tseng and Rufus would be together. These wrong thoughts had started after a few weeks of watching the two work together. They enjoyed a close working relationship and there were moments when Tseng leaned in to look over some paper Rufus was working on that Yuffie couldn’t help but think how good they looked together. His dark suit and jet black hair, the yin to Rufus’s yang. They were a perfect contrast, but complimented each other in the gentle beauty of their features.

She’d read Rufus’s biography. The Turks were mostly anonymous save for descriptions of their position or weapons specialty (Yuffie could recognize the ones she knew, and had since learned some of their names, for example the female Shuriken user was called Cissnei), but high ranking Turks whose names were public record like Veld and Tseng had been mentioned by name. Tseng featured prominently in the biography and Yuffie couldn’t help but think ‘wouldn’t it have made a great love story?’

Tseng: Rufus's constant companion and loyal servant. Rufus: young and idealistic, in need of someone who would be there for him. She imagined Tseng taking Rufus in his arms, running his hands over those perfect muscles, perhaps over scars that had yet to be erased, and then kissing him. At night, Yuffie found herself imaging them together, the things they might whisper and how they might come together. Rufus moaning as he mounted Tseng who lay splayed underneath him, dark hair fanned out on white sheets.

Ok, she was imagining her fiance with another man and getting off on it, weird, definitely _weird._  And there was no way she could ever propose a threesome or something...What was wrong with her? This wasn't what good girls were supposed to do, not what faithful wives did...but she couldn't help but smile at all the thoughts that came to her when she looked at Tseng and Rufus.


End file.
